BTA 10

chapter 10

. This Is Fun

As soon as I got into Manager Yang’s sedan, I put Maengkkong into the basket-style car seat.

After securing him tightly, I said to Heesu,

“Heesu-nim. Since today is vaccination day, we should skip Maengkkong’s bath.”

“Yay~!”

“How can you be happy without even hearing the reason?”

“Maengkkong will probably be happy too, right? Whenever I try to bathe him, he cries his eyes out. Hmm. What’s the reason?”

Vaccinations were a major issue for a newborn.

Crying briefly when getting the shot wasn’t a problem at all.

The important thing was that their temperature could rise several hours after the vaccination, so they had to be monitored carefully.

We needed to check his temperature with a thermometer whenever we had the chance. Anything below 37.5°C was fine, but if his temperature went above that, it could become dangerous.

If it reached 37.5°C or higher, we would give him syrup medicine and monitor his condition. If his fever continued to rise, we would have to take him to the emergency room.

Could Heesu, who was completely inexperienced when it came to childcare, really take good care of Maengkkong?

After listening to my explanation, she gave me a bright smile.

“No problem at all. If our Maengkkong gets a fever, I’ll put him in my baby~ and speed straight to the hospital.”

“…By ‘baby,’ you mean your Lamborghini, right?”

“Of course!”

Heesu answered proudly, and I couldn’t help sighing.

“Whew. No Lamborghini. If Maengkkong develops a high fever after I leave work, call me immediately. I’ll take my father’s car and come over.”

“Hmm. Can it really get that serious?”

“Most of the time, it’s just a slight fever, but you never know.”

Manager Yang chimed in.

“Heesu. If anything happens to the baby, call me instead of Mr. Hyeokchan. I live nearby.”

“Oh, that works. Since Teacher lives far away, Oppa, you come over. I’ll give you a call, haha.”

“Of course I’ll come. It makes no sense for Mr. Hyeokchan, who lives in Icheon, to suddenly come all the way to Dogok-dong.”

The sight of Manager Yang driving felt reassuring.

Maengkkong sat in his basket-style car seat, staring blankly into the air.

I placed my hand against his forehead, but he didn’t have a fever yet.

I hope everything goes smoothly.

I was deep in thought, wondering what I should do if an emergency occurred during my working hours, when Heesu, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke up.

“Teacher, shall we try it?”

“Now?”

“We said we’d give it a quick try in the car earlier.”

I glanced at Maengkkong. He was adorably opening and closing his little mouth.

Since he seemed fine, I nodded.

“Okay. Hmm. Which part should I do?”

Doing lines inside a moving car.

Not only that, but it was the first time in my life I had ever performed lines in front of someone else.

And that someone happened to be Heesu Ahn, one of the most famous actresses in Korea.

I slowly began to feel nervous.

Just then, Heesu looked at me through the rearview mirror and grinned.

“Teacher! No need to be nervous. These are lines you memorized, after all. I’m not expecting you to be good right away. I’m just checking your feel for it. You’re definitely going to have some awkward habits, and I want to see them in advance so I can figure out how to correct them later.”

Right. I’d just think of it as playing pretend with my younger siblings.

The moment she finished speaking, I began reciting my lines.

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything.”

“Huh? You’re starting already?”

“Do you know me? Then can you tell me who I am?”

“……”

Silence filled the car.

Without paying the slightest attention to Manager Yang or Heesu, I continued.

“…Why does my heart hurt when I look at you? Tell me. Who am I, and who are you?”

That was when Heesu jumped in.

“You’re lying. Hurry up and say it’s a lie! Quickly!”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t remember. Anything.”

Honestly, I was flustered.

The moment I heard Heesu’s voice, I felt as though I had suddenly become the tragic male protagonist of a melodrama.

Then Heesu turned her head toward me and opened her mouth.

“Cut!”

“Phew.”

Before I knew it, both my legs were trembling.

I must have been incredibly nervous.

Heesu tapped the passenger seat with her finger and said,

“Teacher. What exactly are you?”

“Why? Was I weird?”

“Why are you so natural? Why don’t you have any awkward habits at all? This makes no sense.”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

Heesu grinned.

“Of course it is. Hmm~ Your emotions are a little awkward, though. It feels like you’re not putting enough emotion into the lines. Well, I’ll let that slide since you only memorized them in a hurry yesterday. But your projection is perfect, and your tone is really good.”

“Wow, I’m glad I worked hard to memorize them.”

“Teacher. Have you ever studied vocal projection?”

I was studying early childhood education, and she was asking if I had studied vocal projection.

I couldn’t help chuckling.

“No. I read storybooks to my siblings every day, play pretend with them, and call out loudly to gather them whenever they run all over the place. I guess all that helped my projection.”

Heesu nodded.

“Hmm. So it’s because you’re the eldest of thirteen siblings?”

“Something like that.”

“That makes sense. But having good vocal projection is an enormous advantage for an actor.”

“Oh, so can I become an actor?”

“Why not? Right, Manager Yang?”

Instead of answering, Manager Yang simply nodded while driving.

Heesu looked toward the driver’s seat, then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Wait? Are you crying?? Oppa? Are you crying? Hahahahaha!”

Manager Yang wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“Hey, don’t laugh. I watched that movie and it was incredibly sad. Hearing Mr. Hyeokchan’s lines reminded me of the scene.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

“I said don’t laugh.”

“Oh my gosh~ My stomach hurts! My belly button!”

Manager Yang glanced toward the back seat before speaking to me with his reddened eyes.

“Mr. Hyeokchan. You’ve got a good feel for this.”

Holding back the laughter that was about to burst out, I answered,

“Thank you, Manager Yang!”

My acting was nowhere near good enough to brag about, but nevertheless, I had received praise from Heesu and Manager Yang for my very first acting attempt.

Even though I was simply sitting still in the back seat of a car, I felt like I was flying through the sky.

Acting…

It’s really fun.

I bought some fever medicine for babies at the pharmacy in front of Town Palace and went inside.

Before feeding Maengkkong, I checked his temperature first.

Beep.

“36.4 degrees.”

Heesu let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew. So our Maengkkong is okay, right?”

“We have to check both sides.”

When taking his temperature, we needed to check both ears.

Twice each, at that.

If we only measured once, the temperature might not be accurate.

Beep.

“36.7 on the right. 36.4 on the left.”

“Is that normal?”

“Haha, yes.”

“Phew. Great! Maengkkong is the best!”

“Hiieee~”

Thankfully, Maengkkong looked perfectly fine.

But it was still far too early to relax.

It had only been an hour since his vaccination.

I shook the thermometer and said,

“For now, feed him and put him down for a nap. Then we need to keep monitoring him. We’ll have to check him throughout the night. Can you do it?”

“Of course! My precious nephew’s health is on the line.”

I filled a baby bottle with formula and began feeding him.

Maybe he had been hungry, because Maengkkong drank happily, gulping down the formula.

But we would still need to feed him several more times afterward.

A newborn’s digestive system was not yet fully developed, so they couldn’t eat a large amount at once. That meant their feeding intervals were relatively short.

That was also why babies kept waking up throughout the night.

Smack, smack, smack, smack—

“Do you want some more, Maengkkong? Shall we have some more later?”

“Hiieee~”

“Haha, so cute.”

Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat—

As I burped Maengkkong, Heesu spoke from behind me.

“Teacher. I think you should practice with a different script instead of the one I lent you.”

“Why? I went through all that trouble to memorize it.”

“After watching you earlier, I think that role is too difficult for you. Someone who has never acted before trying to portray an Alzheimer’s patient? Hmm. Of course it would feel awkward. You basically started with the male lead, and not just any male lead—it’s an extremely difficult role.”

“Then should I start by practicing supporting roles?”

“I think that would be better. I’ll look for a role that suits you.”

Heesu went into the study.

Meanwhile, I burped Maengkkong and put him down for a nap.

Before I knew it, it was one in the afternoon.

Lunch was already quite late, so I quickly prepared a meal.

“Today’s menu is bibimbap and miso soup!”

I started cooking using the vegetables, beef, and various sauces left in the refrigerator.

Bibimbap looked easy to make, but it actually required quite a bit of work.

Still, there was hardly a better dish for using up leftover ingredients.

“Let’s start with the miso soup~”

I quickly made some broth and dissolved the soybean paste into it.

Then I seasoned the vegetables and stir-fried the beef with a sweet marinade.

Sizzleeeee—

A delicious aroma spread throughout the kitchen.

Just then, I heard someone sniffing behind me.

“Whoa, you startled me!”

I turned around and saw Heesu smiling as she sniffed the air.

She asked me,

“What’s that smell? It smells sweet~.”

“That’s beef stir-fried in soy sauce marinade. I’m making bibimbap.”

“Bibimbap? Ah~ But carbs make you gain weight.”

“Are you going to eat some?”

“I’ll have exactly half a bowl.”

I grinned at her answer.

It seemed she had decided to simply enjoy the food I made from now on.

Then Heesu spoke quietly to me.

“Teacher. While I was looking for a script, I got a phone call.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“It was Yeom unni. I mean, Yeom Jeong-an unni. She called to ask if what she requested last time would be possible.”

“You mean… having Maengkkong appear in the drama?”

“Oh~ As expected of Chungang University. Exactly. She must have been in a huge hurry. She said they have filming tomorrow and asked if it would be possible. They said they had already prepared everything. So I told her it was possible.”

“What? Tomorrow?!”

We had already agreed to do it, but tomorrow was still awfully sudden.

What if Maengkkong developed a fever tonight or sometime during the early morning?

If that happened, there was no way we could go out.

After thinking for a moment, I spoke.

“Okay, I understand. But if, by any chance, Maengkkong develops a fever, absolutely not. In that case, we simply won’t be able to go.”

“Roger that~! So as long as he doesn’t get a fever, we’re good?”

“Yes. I’d like to go watch too. But Maengkkong comes first.”

“Of course! Maengkkong is my precious nephew!”

I left Heesu to it and went back to cooking.

The food was already nearly finished, so it didn’t take long to complete everything and set the table.

I placed rice and blanched vegetables into a large soup bowl, then put a fried egg on top.

I opened the gochujang and sesame oil that had been sitting unopened in the kitchen drawer.

One after another, I poured them over the rice.

“Done! Heesu-nim, eat up.”

“Ahem. Shall I give it a try? Ah, I used to hate Korean food, but I’ve developed a taste for it lately. This is becoming a problem.”

Heesu vigorously mixed her rice before asking me,

“Teacher. Be honest. When I told you we were going to the filming set tomorrow, you were excited, weren’t you?”

“No comment.”

“Haha? When I look at you, Teacher, you seem to have a tremendous passion for acting. You even said you stayed up all night memorizing the script yesterday.”

“It’s good to work hard at whatever you do. Enjoy your meal. Hup.”

I took a large bite of the nicely mixed red bibimbap.

As I chewed, savoring every bite, it tasted absolutely heavenly.

Across from me, Heesu was chewing her bibimbap as well before giving me a thumbs-up.

“Amazing! It’s incredibly savory, and the seasoning is perfect!”

“Haha, eat plenty.”

The next day, 5:15 a.m.

I was fast asleep when my phone vibrated beside my head.

I checked it and saw that I had received a KakaoTalk message from Heesu.

<Heesu Ahn (Employer): Teacher! Big news!>

“What is it?”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I replied.

<Me: What’s the big news?>

Bzzz—

<Heesu Ahn (Employer): Right ear: 36.5 degrees. Left ear: 36.4 degrees.>

“Phew.”

Worried that something might happen, I had waited for her messages until late into the night.

If an emergency happened, I was prepared to rush straight to Dogok-dong.

<Me: That’s a relief.>

Bzzz—

<Heesu Ahn (Employer): He was stable all night! So we can go to the filming set today, right??>

“Haha.”

<Me: Yes. Since Maengkkong isn’t sick, we can go.>

Bzzz—

<Heesu Ahn (Employer): Very good! I really wanted to go out. See you later. Good night! ^^>

“Phew. What do you mean, good night? It’s five in the morning. You woke me up yourself.”

I said that, but the corners of my mouth were practically touching my ears.